Rio Grande Valley coach Nevada Smith is new to the Development League but has thrived with a three-point system. / Otto Kitsinger, NBAE/Getty Images

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

RENO - Nevada Smith isn't dreaming about the NBA yet because, well, he's living the dream as it is.

Four months ago, the 33-year-old was coaching a unique brand of basketball at Division III Keystone College in La Plume, Pa., completely unaware that the crack staff of the Houston Rockets was closing in on him as a candidate for their NBA Development League head coaching position. Now, he's part of a coaching circle that is finding its way to the big-time more than ever before while playing an increasingly crucial role in the program of their respective parent clubs.

Semi-Pro 2, this is not.

For all the focus on the D-League's improvement and how - at last count - 122 NBA players have D-League experience of some kind, the coaches are having the most substantive impact on the NBA. There are many layers to their influence, from the 19 NBA coaches with D-League roots - including one head coach, the Memphis Grizzlies' Dave Joerger - to the reality that the newfound synergy between D-League teams and their NBA teams means they're a more legitimate part of this process than ever.

The rise in single-affiliation clubs has been a major factor in this new corporate structure: In the past three years, 10 of the league's 17 teams have become, a la baseball's structure, single affiliation; three teams are run by more than one NBA team.

This isn't a dream job when it comes to getting rich, especially when compared to NBA coaching counterparts.

Whereas the Los Angeles Clippers' Doc Rivers and the San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich are thought to be the league's highest-paid coaches at about $7 million a season, D-League coaches make, on average $75,000 annually. But the opportunities have never been better.

Smith has become the darling of the D-League. The innovative Rockets brass, led by general manager Daryl Morey, canvassed the country for candidates, then cold-called Smith because of the fascinating way his teams relied almost entirely on the three-pointer or the layup.

Four months later, after Smith beat out 34 other candidates for the job, his Rio Grande Valley (Hidalgo, Texas) Vipers (15-5) are an entertaining and successful petri dish of sorts for the Rockets. They average an unheard-of 46.2 three-point attempts a game (the second-ranked team was shooting 33.1) and 124.7 points a game (No. 2 is 117.4) and are a one-of-a-kind basketball laboratory for Morey and company.

"We get to experiment with some different styles on offense and defense," Morey said at last week's D-League Showcase, where all 17 teams took part. "Since we've had the Vipers (as single-affiliation) over the four years, we've tried to do different things and incorporate them with the Rockets over time. It's just seeing how teams react (to the three-pointers), how to defend it, so that you can learn how to counter their counter.

"There have definitely been things that we've done in the D-League that we've then done with the Rockets. â?¦ It's been really great for us."

SHARED SYSTEMS: D-League teams help narrow focus

The Miami Heat took a different approach to picking a D-League coach, promoting Pat Delany, 33, from within to run the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Sky Force in August. He spent 11 seasons learning the ins and outs of Pat Riley's winning world in Miami, first as a video coordinator and the past six seasons as an advance scout. There was talent there, along with trust, so a new partnership began.

As is the case with most D-League teams these days, the NBA team wants consistency in style of play on both levels as a way to make the whole system more productive. Players who might be called up are then ahead of the curve upon arriving in the NBA, and NBA players who are sent down don't have culture shock. In Delany's case, there is constant coordination between his staff and the Heat staff, headed by Erik Spoelstra.

"In terms of the type of play, I talked to Coach Spo quite a bit before we started the season about trying to duplicate as much as we can with what they do," Delany said. "They've been great about giving me free rein, saying, 'Hey, teach what we do, see how it fits, and then make the adjustments that you see as necessary for your team and your players.'

"In terms of communication, it's probably been above and beyond what I expected. It's daily - every day - with (Heat assistant general manager and Sky Force general manager) Adam Simon. I talk to (Heat assistant general manager) Andy (Elisburg). Adam and (Heat vice president of player personnel) Chet Kammerer have been to Sioux Falls and seen us on the road probably 10 to 12 times already. The communication and the open line of it all has been amazing."

SHARED MISSION: Goals align between the leagues

Santa Cruz (Calif.) Warriors coach Casey Hill and staff are fully integrated and invested in the mission of the parent club, the Golden State Warriors. Hill, son of former NBA head coach Bob Hill, was promoted after two seasons as a Santa Cruz assistant.

"The foundation of what we're doing (in Santa Cruz) has a lot to do with what Golden State is doing," said Hill, 30, who reports to Kirk Lacob, the Santa Cruz Warriors general manager and son of Golden State owner Joe Lacob. "I really paid attention during (Golden State) training camp. I got all their (offensive) actions, and we're using all their terminology, using their actions. I feel I'm obligated to do that, because: A) It's Golden State that's running it. It's their team, and this thing needs to be implemented where we're developing players. â?¦ And, B) It's my obligation to make it kind of a synergic kind of relationship where they send a player to us, he understands the system to us right away. Or if we send a player to them, he's got a really good base knowledge of what they have set."

A shared mission by all and, you might say, a D(ream)-League for more and more coaches.

"I think this league, for guys who didn't play in the NBA but have coaching talent and the will to coach on this level, I think it's the perfect place for guys to do it," Hill said. "The league had probably its strongest year ever last year, continues to get stronger, and the opportunities for players and coaches are getting stronger day by day.

"That has a lot to do with the interest level of the NBA and how much they're using it."